Antioxidant evaluation for Urtica urens, Rumex cyprius and Borago officinalis edible wild plants in palestine

Natural plants products are one of the famous and commonly utilized remedies used in fighting diseases. This study was conducted to evaluate antioxidant activity of plants commonly used in Palestine [Urtica urens, Rumex cyprius and Borago officinalis]. Free radical scavenging activity method was evaluated by using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazylhydrate. The result show that the overall antioxidant activity of Rumex cyprius was the highest among the plants, followed by Urtica urens, and Borago officinalis; respectively. The [IC[50]] values of the methanolic extracts were 29.70 +/- 0.60 microg/ml, 5.07 +/- 0.49 microg/ml, 39.92 +/- 0.52 microg/ml for Urtica urens, Rumex cyprius and Borago officinalis respectively. The results of this study revealed that these edible plants have high antioxidant activity and therefore they can provide natural sources of antioxidants and can be useful in preventing various diseases including cancer. These exhibited properties propose that such plants extracts can possibly be used as natural preservatives in the food and pharmaceutical industries and further characterization of Rumex cyprius constituents is needed

IL-6 and TNF-α serum levels are associated with early death in community-acquired pneumonia patients

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is amongst the leading causes of death worldwide. As inflammatory markers, cytokines can predict outcomes, if interpreted together with clinical data and scoring systems such as CURB-65, CRB, and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II). The aim of this study was to determine the impact of inflammatory biomarkers on the early mortality of hospitalized CAP patients. Twenty-seven CAP patients needing hospitalization were enrolled for the study and samples of interleukin-1 (IL-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), C-reactive protein (CRP), and homocystein were collected at the time of admission (day 1) as well as on the seventh day of the treatment. There was a significant reduction in the levels of IL-6 between the first and the second collections. Median IL-6 values decreased from 24 pg/mL (day 1) to 8 pg/mL (day 7) (P=0.016). The median levels of TNF-α were higher in patients: i) with acute kidney injury (AKI) (P=0.045), ii) requiring mechanical ventilation (P=0.040), iii) with short hospital stays (P=0.009), iv) admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) (P=0.040), v) who died early (P=0.003), and vi) with worse CRB scores (P=0.013). In summary, IL-6 and TNF-α levels were associated with early mortality of CAP patients. Longer admission levels demonstrated greater likelihood of early death and overall mortality, necessity of mechanical ventilation, and AKI.

Performance of two-dimensional Doppler echocardiography for the assessment of infarct size and left ventricular function in rats

Although echocardiography has been used in rats, few studies have determined its efficacy for estimating myocardial infarct size. Our objective was to estimate the myocardial infarct size, and to evaluate anatomic and functional variables of the left ventricle. Myocardial infarction was produced in 43 female Wistar rats by ligature of the left coronary artery. Echocardiography was performed 5 weeks later to measure left ventricular diameter and transverse area (mean of 3 transverse planes), infarct size (percentage of the arc with infarct on 3 transverse planes), systolic function by the change in fractional area, and diastolic function by mitral inflow parameters. The histologic measurement of myocardial infarction size was similar to the echocardiographic method. Myocardial infarct size ranged from 4.8 to 66.6 percent when determined by histology and from 5 to 69.8 percent when determined by echocardiography, with good correlation (r = 0.88; P < 0.05; Pearson correlation coefficient). Left ventricular diameter and mean diastolic transverse area correlated with myocardial infarct size by histology (r = 0.57 and r = 0.78; P < 0.0005). The fractional area change ranged from 28.5 ± 5.6 (large-size myocardial infarction) to 53.1 ± 1.5 percent (control) and correlated with myocardial infarct size by echocardiography (r = -0.87; P < 0.00001) and histology (r = -0.78; P < 00001). The E/A wave ratio of mitral inflow velocity for animals with large-size myocardial infarction (5.6 ± 2.7) was significantly higher than for all others (control: 1.9 ± 0.1; small-size myocardial infarction: 1.9 ± 0.4; moderate-size myocardial infarction: 2.8 ± 2.3). There was good agreement between echocardiographic and histologic estimates of myocardial infarct size in rats.

Developed pressure data may provide misinformation when used alone to evaluate systolic function in isovolumetric left ventricle preparations

We report data showing that developed pressure (DPmax) may lead to opposite conclusion with respect to maximal developed circumferential wall stress (max) when used to assess contractile function in left ventricle isovolumic preparations. Isovolumetric left ventricle preparations of rats with cardiac hypertrophy (H; N = 10) induced by isoproterenol administration showed higher DPmax (174 + ou - 14 mmHg) than control (C; N = 8) animals (155 + ou - 12 mmHg) or rats with regression (R; N = 8) of hypertrophy (144 + ouy - 11 mmHg). In contrast, the estimated max for C (145 + ou - 26 kdynes/cm2) and R (133 + ou - 17 kdynes/cm2) was higher than for H (110 + ou - 13 kdynes/cm2). According to Laplace's law, the opposite results of DPmax and max may depend on the increased mass/volume left ventricle ratio of the hypertrophied hearts, which favored pressure generation. These results clearly show that DPmax should be used with caution to analyze systolic function.